By BILL BARLOW /Special to the Sentinel
OCEAN CITY – As New Jersey, the nation and the world take unprecedented steps to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff at United Methodist Communities at the Shores and other senior living facilities work to keep life as normal as possible for residents while protecting them from the disease.
That’s meant increasing the already extensive guidelines for cleaning, according to Roberta Voloshin, the marketing and sales director at the facility, and limiting social interaction both within the facility and with the outside world.
“We’ve definitely increased our cleaning and disinfecting. We are delivering meals to residents in their rooms or apartments,” she said.
While it’s been years since the name of the facility has changed, most in Ocean City continue to think of The Shores by the name it held for decades, Wesley Manor. Typically, most residents at The Shores have an active social life, with many meals eaten in the dining room and classes and events throughout the week. Much of that has been curtailed, including a planned Easter lunch. That is instead going to take place virtually, with residents able to see each other and interact without gathering.
“We’re taking tons of precautions,” she said. “We’re not allowing visitors, but we’ve expanded our technical capabilities with Skype and Zoom and Facetime.”
The online digital video platforms allow families to virtually visit their loved ones, and residents to interact safely. Staff members help the residents log on and use the virtual systems, which have seen a massive increase in use for business and social interactions as people of all ages isolate because of the virus.
Cape May County’s Crest Haven Nursing and rehabilitation Center in Middle Township closed to visitors. Aside from staff, the only other people allowed in the building are medical responders and those making deliveries.
“On March 13, we closed the center to outside visitors based on the president’s guidance and the governor’s guidance that this was going to be a national emergency,” Freeholder Jeffrey Pierson said.
The next day county Public Health Coordinator Kevin Thomas recommended all senior facilities take similar steps. According to Pierson, all facilities in Cape May County are shut to outside visitors to limit the spread of the virus.
At Crest Haven, there is an exception made for residents known to be close to the end of their lives.
“They still need to see their families,” he said.
Those individuals are now in a separate wing with its own entrance, so family members do not come in contact with the other residents.
Special events have been canceled at the facility and residents no longer eat in the cafeteria.
“They love that. So the isolation hurts them a little bit. They understand. They’re going to hang in there,” he said. Staff has also set up computers for residents to use to communicate with family members.
According to Voloshin, some families still visit The Shores in person, seeing their relatives through the glass windows or doors. They cannot have direct contact with residents, she said, but the families can see each other in person.
Experts, including with the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say social distancing is the most effective way to slow the fast-spreading disease, which is especially dangerous to older patients.
Even with a state of emergency imposed by Gov. Phil Murphy shutting most public gatherings, New Jersey has seen a sharp increase in the number of cases, with more than 41,000 people testing positive as of April 6, and 1,000 deaths.
“We’ve had no positive tests” as of April 2, Voloshin said, not among the staff or among the residents.
United Methodist Communities has nine locations in the region, including two in Ocean City, The Shores and Wesley By the Bay.
On the organization’s website, there is a call for anyone who can sew to make masks for health care workers. Masks, gloves and other personal protective gear has been in short supply during the crisis. The site includes a link to a YouTube video showing how to create the masks.
As with other medical issues, the staff also have guidelines in place if a resident exhibits symptoms of COVID-19. Typically, residents can come and go as they please, but according to the website of United Methodist Communities, starting on March 16, residents who leave any of four of the facilities, including The Shores, will not be able to return until after the pandemic and the organization deems it safe to return. There are exceptions for emergencies or with permission of the executive director.
The county has also shut all four senior centers for the duration of the pandemic, including those in Ocean City and Upper Township. The Meals on Wheels program continues to provide meals to seniors, and has added deliveries to some people who relied on the meals provided at the senior centers.
According to Pierson, the county found out which regulars depended on the food offered at the senior centers and added them to the delivery routes. The county Social Services building remains open and in operation, he said, but with limited staff, and with more reliance on phones email and other kinds of remote communication.
Pierson said the residents at Crest Haven are handling the crisis well and adjusting to the new normal. Some survived the Great Depression, and many of the residents have seen a World War, the rise of the Space Age and the exponential technological advancement of the digital age, but none have seen anything like this.
“This is a unique pandemic,” Pierson said.
One resident is 103, and so was alive for the 1918 pandemic after World War I, often seen as the closest historical precedent to this year’s worldwide crisis, but unlikely to remember anything from that time.
There are 104 residents in Crest Haven, Pierson said. There has been no indication of COVID-19 infection among residents or staff.